Museum to bus students to see ‘Selma’

The River Road African American Museum is coordinating a day at the movies for 10th-, 11th- and 12th-graders from the Ascension Parish and greater Baton Rouge area who want to go to the movies on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Museum Executive Director Kathe Hambrick Jackson said the goal of the program is to bring 100 students to see the film “Selma” on Monday.

“We invite students from all ethnic backgrounds to join us as we travel to Baton Rouge for a special screening of the film,” she said. “We hope that new friendships are developed and that the students are inspired to find ways to improve race relations in the future.”

Ava DuVernay directed “Selma,” which tells the story of the 1965 campaign led by King to secure equal voting rights despite surrounding violence-riddled opposition.

Students can attend at no cost, she said. Jackson said the program needs chaperones.

The group will leave the museum at 406 Charles Street in Donaldsonville at 10:30 a.m. for the Perkins Rowe Theatre in Baton Rouge.

Students attending will be eligible to win a $100 prize in the Selma MLK Day essay contest. To qualify, students must attend the movie with the group.